| American consumers are about to get a first-hand look at President Donald Trump’s tariffs. After midnight tonight, a tariff exemption for packages worth less than $800 comes to an end. So that gadget or bauble you ordered online is going to be subject to the duties Trump imposed previously on the country of origin and in some cases the component materials. There’s a lot of commerce affected. The number of packages claiming what’s known as the de minimis exemption has surged over the last decade. They totaled nearly 1.4 billion in fiscal year 2024, or roughly 3.7 million a day. It’s among the factors that helped fuel the growth of e-commerce businesses such as Amazon and Shein in recent years. The bulk of these duty-free packages used to come from China until Trump canceled that exemption a few months ago. Now they’re coming for the artisan goods you buy on Etsy from everywhere else. The looming expiration has already sown chaos with sellers and logistics companies. Postal services around the globe have stopped taking US-bound packages for delivery while awaiting paperwork and payment requirements. Consumers have been somewhat buffered from broader tariff-induced price hikes at retailers so far. Importers stocked up on inventory before the broader tariffs took effect and businesses have absorbed some of the costs. That’s expected to shift to consumers, and the small parcel duty likely will make it more apparent. Chris Pawlukiewicz got an early look at the effect. Days after ordering specialty computer parts from Germany, he received a bill for $934 owed to US Customs and Border Protection. With help from the internet and UPS customer service, he discovered errors in the charge. But he still owed a 25% tariff because his purchase included components originating in China and a 50% duty applied to an aluminum derivative. The final tab was about $340 before brokers’ fees, roughly 75% of what he paid for the parts themselves. Consumers are all but assured to encounter similar price shocks once the exemption ends, though they won’t necessarily be left to sort it by themselves. Retailers with robust e-commerce operations should be prepared to handle the tariff change on their end, said Derek Lossing, founder of logistics consulting firm Cirrus Global Advisors. “It would be a disaster if you’re trying to get a consumer to deal with it,” he said. — Cailley LaPara | 
